The General Conference of Unesco has ratified the designation of the former Palau Macaya, now called CaixaForum Macaya, as the first center of this organization in the world for social sciences and humanities. Thus, the Fundació La Caixa center will become a global ideas laboratory, think tank, and will contribute to putting into practice Unesco's strategies to face contemporary challenges in the social, economic, industrial and technological, humanistic and environmental fields.
The determination of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to agree that CaixaForum Macaya develop this work, reinforces the trajectory of this center as a space for debate and reflection on the opportunities and challenges of current society. A task that the Fundació La Caixa space, on Passeig de Sant Joan, in Barcelona, has been carrying out for years with the promotion and exchange of ideas with the different actors of Catalan and international civil society.
With these objectives, the foundation promoted the Social Observatory to disseminate knowledge in social sciences and humanities, and is the headquarters of the European School of Humanities, which works on the most humanistic aspect of social changes. In addition, it hosts the Barcelona headquarters of the Club of Rome, whose mission is to act as an independent catalyst to identify and investigate humanity's most crucial problems and transfer them to public officials, private managers and the public, in general.
The designation of CaixaForum Macaya was approved under the presidency of the Director-General of Unesco, Audrey Azoulay; of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez; and of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares.
The Director-General of the world organization, Audrey Azoulay, pointed out that this designation is "a demonstration of shared values" between both institutions, while "an alliance" that becomes "an stimulus for institutions of impeccable reputation".
From the Fundación La Caixa, chaired by Isidre Fainé, the convergence of the values, objectives and lines of action of both institutions is taken into consideration, in areas such as social inclusion, education, science and culture, especially in a socioeconomic context like the current one.